


Count on Me

by saisei



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Family, Gen, Headcanon, Team as Family, year-end repost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 01:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13202889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saisei/pseuds/saisei
Summary: Noct thinks Ignis doesn't understand him.





	Count on Me

Noct didn't think about Ignis' family until he was halfway through high school. People avoided talking about their parents with _him_ , because they assumed he was still grieving his mother (yes, but an old grief) and asking about his father was prying into the personal affairs of the King. His lack of curiosity about other people's families was just returning the favor.

But after he made up with Ignis over their fight about Noct's eventual succession (please the Astrals, decades and decades in the future), he complained to Gladio that Ignis didn't _know_ , he didn't _understand_. Gladio looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Iggy's a Count, right?"

Noct shrugged. The old aristocratic titles didn't mean much in modern Insomnia; he gathered Ignis' was mostly useful in defending himself against people who thought their age equated wisdom.

"It's an inherited title," Gladio went on, as if his patience was a finite resource Noct was wasting. "And he's been a Count as long as you've known him."

That sent a chill right through Noct. "But – " His thoughts were in a whirl, bits and pieces clicking together into a whole. "He goes to see his parents, I know he does."

"Same as I visit my mom's grave, and you visit yours." Gladio sighed and dropped his heavy arm around Noct's shoulders, using the weight to drag him close into a sideways hug. "You saw way too much violent death as a kid, you gotta know people were terrified how the trauma would affect you, so even now they watch what they say around you. And maybe we shouldn't have kept so quiet about our own dead, but – it's self-serving, too. I miss my mother every day, but it's still hard to talk about her. Iggy's probably the same."

"Sometimes I have to look at pictures to remember things," Noct said, haltingly. "I think... I'm probably taller now than she was. It's weird. Do you think Specs has pictures?"

Gladio sighed. "Hope so. Suck if he didn't."

Noct tried to imagine Ignis growing up with his family and not meeting Noct until they'd both finished school and the Prince first had need of an advisor. How it would feel to just be Ignis' employer, without a foundation of love and friendship. Would they even like each other? How long would it take Noct to find out Ignis had a terrible sense of humor? (Or maybe that Ignis-with-parents wouldn't be funny, perhaps he'd be interested in finance or gardening.) He'd probably think Noct was a whiny brat, like Gladio did, Noct didn't mind (much) being treated the same as Iris.

Maybe that alternate Ignis had younger brothers of his own, and didn't need _Noct_ at all.

"Hey." Gladio gave Noct a little shake, and his free hand smacked against his chest. "Come on, breathe deep for me. There you go. Chill. You want to tell me what you're freaking out about? Burdens are lighter shared, or something."

"Just..." Noct let his head drop, half-hoping the words got lost. "If no one died, we wouldn't have each other. And I _want_ you and Speccy to be happy, but – "

"Wishing doesn't bring back the dead," Gladio interrupted. "And we're not going to leave you alone. Okay? You can be a royal pain in the ass, but you're _ours_. We're keeping you. No givebacks."

"No givebacks," Noct repeated. It was stupid and nonsensical but the phrase rang through him like a bell. Gladio and Ignis were _his_. "Do you think Ignis is mad that I didn't know?"

"Nah. If he'd wanted you to know, you would. You can still make fun of him when he has to wear his ceremonial robes." Noct could hear him grinning as he continued, "Pretty sure some Scientia ancestor was colorblind."

Noct had nearly laughed himself sick the first time he'd seen Ignis in all that pink. "Doesn't explain the hat, though."

"No explanation for that hat," Gladio agreed, and gave Noct's hair a fond ruffle.


End file.
